


Under the Crystal Moon

by David_boi



Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: A little dark to start off with, F/M, I'll probably never finish this should be a warning, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other, Promise, This was supposed to be a oneshot!!, but who knows, by that i mean not sexual, gender neutral reader, i'll add tags as i go, no book or movie, non kinky choking, only lore, reader is stressed and depressed, so you know, sorry bout that, this is set in an au where the labyrinth is a mythical place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 19:49:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18923872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/David_boi/pseuds/David_boi
Summary: You were tired of it all, so you decided that life as you knew it could go to hell. Wishing yourself away to the labyrinth, could have been your best idea to date, or your worst nightmare. Maybe a mixture of both. You meet the cold goblin king, and immediately feel... well, something. You don't know exactly what.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for giving this a go! I wish you luck on your journey.

It was a moonlit night. The cars were still roaming the streets, but a certain eerie quietness had still befallen the city. As if the atmosphere needed the sun to keep up appearances. Still, people wandered the streets. Some aimlessly, some with a purpose, be it benevolent or sinister. Others, like you, wandered because they wanted to get away. To escape.

You walked with your head hung low, not making eye contact with anyone. You didn’t want to send any signals other than to leave you alone. This wasn’t a night out with friends, nor was it a peaceful stroll down the city streets at night. To be perfectly honest, you didn’t know what you were doing. You just knew that you weren’t going back. Not ever. Not when the life you were leaving behind, was a life filled with sorrow, uncertainty and unease. Bad thoughts had been a constant. Wanting to do the worst things to yourself, just to find some form of emotion. You were numb, and you knew that it was now or never if you wanted to get away from it all.

You had read the books, the myths and the questionable sources on the internet. All you had to do was say the words. If it worked you’d get a chance to leave. If only for a little while. If it didn’t, well, you weren’t really expecting it to, so you wouldn’t be disappointed. But if it really didn’t work, you’d have to go against what you’d set out to do, and instead go back to where you came from. So you were hoping.

You had not wanted to do it back home. Your family would wonder why you were talking to yourself, and barge in. You didn’t have a problem with your family, quite the contrary, but you couldn’t live like this anymore. It broke your heart to leave your mum behind, for she had tried everything to make it work, and in doing so, had broken her heart in pieces.

You neared your destination, which you had scoped out earlier, an abandoned and overgrown courtyard next to a warehouse. On your way over to it, it had begun raining just a bit. Just enough to push you further towards acting upon your decision. Standing in front of the wire fence, you looked around at your surroundings, checking to see if anyone was watching you. Giving yourself the all clear, you ducked into the very convenient hole in the wire. Not looking back when you came out on the other side, you began walking steadfastly towards a corner in the courtyard where there was both shelter from the rain and from the glaring eyes of the public. The rain had worsened to a steady stream coming down from the heavens.

Under the little canopy, you rested on a slab of concrete, looking out at the rain. You thought about how your family would react if this worked. About how your mum would likely go into a state of disbelief and shock. You dad would probably try to fix it, as he always tries to do with everything, by calling the police. But in the end they’d think you’d either left them or that you had died. They would be devastated, but you had to do this for yourself. You kept telling yourself that if you wanted to have a chance at a different life, you had to do this. To be selfish. You forced yourself to think of the reasons why you were here. It was impossible for you to go another day with the kind of thoughts roaming around your head about life, and where it was and wasn’t going to lead. One could say you were stressed.

Sighing, you diverted your gaze from the rain. You looked to your right, at a broken window, where you could see your reflection. Noticing the dark bags under your eyes and the seemingly constantly furrowed brows. You had to do this. Nodding to yourself, you took in a deep breath.

“If anybody is listening, if anybody cares,” you said, feeling a sense of doubt settle in your heart. You had to say it, though. You’d come this far. Feeling the words on your lips, you closed your eyes.

“I wish… I wish the goblins would come and take me away, right now.”

A clap of thunder startled you, and made you open your eyes. You looked around hopefully, as the myths had described claps of thunder as one of the signs they had arrived. That he had arrived. But the more you looked around, the more your hopes faltered. Nothing was to be seen. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least. You visibly lost your posture. Running shaky hands through your hair, you drew in an uneven breath. Thoughts of failure flooded your mind. You began thinking you had just been naïve, and that nothing beyond the ordinary exists. You noticed your breathing had quickened, so you focused on getting it under control again. In doing so, you leant back against the wall behind you.

Closing your eyes and doing breathing exercises seemed to help, but soon you were overcome with a sense of falling backwards, as if there wasn’t a wall behind you. You tried to scream, but the air around you seemed to swallow the sound up. You fell for what felt like ages, when finally you came to an abrupt stop. It didn’t hurt, it just caught you off guard. Groaning, the first thing you noticed was sand underneath your hands. You looked around, and saw a very different setting than what you’d just been in. You figured this was just a dream, and that you’d wake up any moment now, sitting on the cold slab of concrete. It was a very sandy landscape. Loads of leafless, probably dead trees littered your surroundings. You could hear the wind passing through them. Really, it was so different from what you were used to, you found it exhilarating.

A laughter filled the air. It put you off in such a way, that you could feel your stomach drop. Still, it didn’t waver you. You looked around to find the source of the laugh, but it was as if it came from all around you. Suddenly, as you turned your head, you jumped as you were met with a face very close to yours. It belonged to a man with a serious mullet and peculiar makeup. He looked very thoughtful as he studied you, kneeling next to you, his eyes darting over you. His gaze made you very insecure, as if he could see right through you, into your soul. Like a bolt of lightning, all this made sense. You had succeeded.

“You- you’re the goblin king,” you whispered, eyes wide open. The king before you, who you had only heard of in obscure lore and books long forgotten, smirked a sinister smirk. There was something else hiding underneath the unfriendly façade, though, but you couldn’t quite place it. He stood up, his movements elegant and regal. As he looked down upon you, you suddenly felt very small and out of place, still you held his gaze. He sighed, as if out of annoyance.

“Are you just going to sit there all day?” he said with a tired voice. Clearly, he didn’t expect an answer, other than you standing up, so you did. Looking into his cold eyes, you noticed how they were mismatched. It made him look even more otherworldly. His blue and grey eyes bore into yours, making you almost look away, but something kept your gaze. It was as if you could see something familiar in his eyes. Pushing that aside, you had one burning question.

“Is this real?”

He sighed again, seemingly exasperated, “As real as can be. Now, I presume you know who I am, but who are you, and why did you wish yourself away, little one?” he asked you, making your face heat up at the sudden nickname. You thought about how you were going to answer, but apparently he decided he had waited enough, since he began talking again, “Never in my long life has anyone wished themselves away, so why on earth did you?” he asked again, “You do know your fate now, don’t you?”

“You’ll turn me into a goblin, unless I get through your labyrinth. If I do get through, you’ll offer me to stay and not be turned, which is what I’m going for,” you stated, as if you were bargaining. In truth, you were bargaining for your life. “And I feel it’s only fair that I keep my reasons to myself,” you stated, as you’d settled for not telling him at all. What you didn’t know was, that you’d just intrigued the king to a point where he found himself having to silence his curiosity. No one had wished a child away in so long, and even when they did and tried to get the child back, they weren’t as peculiar as you. He remembered the last time someone had wished a child away. It had been decades. It was Sarah who had gotten through his labyrinth. All he had wanted was for her to stay with him, but she couldn’t see it the same way he did. Since then, he had adopted a reclusive and cynical nature.

Ignoring his curiosity, he dismissively said, “Well, better get moving. You must know the rules. 13 hours.” His sudden change in demeanor left you confused, but you figured he had just been doing something before you had wished, and wanted to get back to it. He walked backwards, and before you could think anything, he began fading away, until you could only see the dusty horizon.

“Well,” you said to yourself, “best get moving, as he said,” and off you were to solve this impossible labyrinth. Little did you know of all the fantastical things you’d see along the way, not to mention the horrors. Or the friends you’d make along the way.


	2. Chapter 2

You made your way down a sandy path that lead towards the labyrinth. While trotting down it, you couldn’t help but notice how unsettling the wind was, and the way it seemed to be the only sound other than your footsteps. An uneasy feeling settled in your stomach. You began thinking that maybe this was a bad idea, and that you were never going to make it.

You were so caught up in your thoughts, that you didn’t notice a bird start chirping. In truth, you might have even walked straight past it, had it not had a certain attitude. It had been watching you from a branch as you walked towards the labyrinth, and, as creatures tend to have here, had a peculiar ability. Its ability was to listen in on thoughts, and it did not like yours. Not one bit. So it flew down from its branch, only to land right on your head, causing you to shriek in surprise and terror. You tried brushing it off, but it persisted. Finally, after much panicking and scratching from yours and the birds, part respectively, you accepted your fate. The bird settled on your head, shimmying slightly to make itself comfortable. When it was comfortable enough, it bent its relatively long neck down to make eye contact with you. You were honestly so weirded out.

“You’re not getting far with a mindset like that!” it said, adjusting its wings. This deeply confused you. You were prepared for creatures in this place to start talking; that you’d read, but for them to apparently read your damn thoughts? That you weren’t prepared for. Not to mention how rude it was to just land on your head. Nevertheless, you thought to be polite.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me! There’s no need for your thoughts to ruin my day, you know?” it chirped rather determinedly, as if the most important thing was itself. You frowned. 

“What do you want?” you asked, just wanting the bird to leave you alone, so that you could get on with it all. The bird cocked its head, its attitude changing from mildly hostile to a more calm nature.

“You’re here to get a child back, aren’t you?” it asked, making you shake your head.

“No, I wished myself here, actually,” you answered timidly, feeling like the bird was going to judge you, for some reason. If it did, it concealed it well. But then again, it is limited how much a bird can express through its face.

“Oh well, details. Point is, I want to help you get through the labyrinth, so I- we can show that rat Jareth what’s what,” it said, very caught up in what sounded like a revenge plan. It seemed very farfetched, but this whole place was farfetched, so you just went with it. You began walking again.

“So what’s your name, feathers?” you asked, curious. The bird flapped its wings in excitement, realizing that you, at least, had accepted its presence. It chirped.

“The name is Peregrin and I’d appreciate it if you referred to me as a ‘he’ from now on,” the little bird chirped happily. He flew down on a hand you’d stretched out for him and you got a good look at him. He had green and blue feathers, with yellow head markings and black, beady eyes. He was a smaller bird, but a very beautiful one. You smiled to him and told him your own name. “Pretty name for a human!” he cheeped and you smiled. He made you forget about your troubles just a little bit.

You reached the wall to the labyrinth, but saw no gate, door, hole or anything. You looked around from left to right, but it was all wall for miles. Peregrin only tweeted happily and said, “Just walk for a bit, then turn around again! The gate will appear.” You looked questioningly at the bird, but followed his instructions. As you did, you asked him why he was helping you. “Well, If you’d been exiled by Jareth himself, to this awful wasteland, you’d be wanting revenge too,” he said with just an ounce of spite, looking off towards the distance. You were getting the gist that he was kind of a dramatic fellow.

“But if you’re exiled… why are you heading back to the place you’re exiled from?” you inquired thoughtfully. He looked back at you.

“The time calls for rebellion,” he simply said. With that, you turned around and there, out of nowhere, was the gate. You made your way over to it, hesitated, then pushed open the doors. The wind rushed around you, catching in your hair. You walked forwards, through the gate, and into the labyrinth. First thing you noticed was the seemingly endless pathways on either side of you. Peregrin began chirping, and as your face grew more confused, it began sounding more like a chuckle. “Let’s see if you can figure this out in time,” Peregrin said, then added, “If it helps, I believe in you.” You looked at him as if he were mad, but made an effort not to think any bad thoughts about him.

After looking thoroughly at both of your options, you opted to go left. You began walking, even though you could see no point in it. As you walked, you began to develop a feeling of being watched, but you brushed it off as the creepy moss with eyes that you’d observed. You sighed as you felt like you had walked for too long without any progress that could be seen. “Don’t give up now! You’ve just started,” Peregrin tried to cheer you up, but his words did the opposite. If you had only just started, then what would await you after this?

“But this seems never ending!” you exclaimed, throwing yourself to lean on the nearest wall. It just so happened that the wall you threw yourself at wasn’t there to begin with, so for the second time that day, you fell down. This time, however, you could scream and you landed after a much shorter time, right on your ass. Peregrin had flown down and landed on a fallen branch, where he looked to be having a jolly good time. You looked around for an answer to why you’d fallen, but not before giving Peregrin a deathly glare. You couldn’t come up with any other explanation other than this place being unexplainable. However, as you had looked around, you’d noticed that there were different ways to go now. You jumped up as you realized this. You had no time to waste, and you already felt like had wasted too much of it. Peregrin landed on your shoulder as soon as you had gotten up. Now, you only had to decide which way you wanted to go. You decided to go left, since that, after all, hadn’t brought you misfortune last time.

Only, this time it did. You screamed as the earth gave away under you. Darkness enveloped you, as you fell, not even a single ray of light. You were panicking, just hoping that you would wake up from this nightmare.

Far away in his castle, Jareth sat upon his throne. He wasn’t laughing, frankly, he looked troubled. He was looking into one of his crystal balls, which showed you falling. Moments before, he could barely keep his cool, for you had gone the way no one else seemed to go. The way you had gone would have lead you to his castle in less than five minutes, and Jareth wasn’t having any of that. He wasn’t too keen on Peregrin helping you either, so he had made sure that the bird hadn’t been able to follow you down. Even then, Jareth couldn’t help but make sure you landed safely. He had noticed Peregrin calling out a name that had to belong to you. “Huh,” he said to himself with raised eyebrows, “that fits well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't even proofread this one.

Falling.

It was a thing you should have gotten quite used to by now, since you’d been falling more than Alice in Wonderland lately. Still, you weren’t a fan. Then, there was the darkness. It was never-ending wherever you were right now. An unearthly quietness was present as well, which you didn’t notice till you landed. You landed quite softly considering how long you had been falling for, as if someone caught you and placed you gently on the ground. You didn’t get up immediately. You just laid there, thinking about what had brought you into this situation. Peregrin wasn’t there. If he was, you would’ve been able to hear him chattering away. However, you did become very acutely aware of someone or something else being there. Something was poking you. It felt like… a stick? Yeah, there was definitely a stick being poked at you curiously. You swiftly turned to face the stick bearer.

A pair of yellow orbs stared back at you from the darkness. The stick retreated and the orbs blinked once, twice, until they began coming closer to you. Heavy footsteps could be heard crushing the dirt on the ground. Your pulse had picked up its pace a bit, unbeknownst to you. A large, bipedal frame came vaguely into view, growing with each step, until it came to a stop before you. Bending down to your level, you could finally make out some features. The features you could make out were those of a lioness. A lion on two legs. You got the feeling that it should have fazed you, but it honestly didn’t. A low rumble erupted from the lions throat. She sounded hoarse, as if she hadn’t used her voice in a long time. The low sound grew stronger and clearer, until it stopped.

“Hello there, darling. Sorry, my voice seems to be a tad bit rusty,” a feminine voice came from the lioness. She offered a paw to help you up, which you took offering her a smile in return. Standing next to her really made you notice how tall she was. Even in the darkness you could see there was an aura of nobleness around her. You thanked her for giving you a hand, then told her your name. She smiled a weird smile. It was weird because her face was that of a lions, and a lion shouldn’t really smile. But she tried her best. “My name is Marguerite,” she told you, then continued, “I am sorry I poked you, but you didn’t move when you landed. I was worried!”

You huffed, “It’s alright, you just frightened me a bit,” you said. She laughed, seeming to let go of her worries.

She looked around before asking almost crestfallen, “Don’t suppose you know a way out of here, do you?” You looked around for the first time since getting into this situation, and now that your eyes had adjusted to the minimal light, you could see that there were no doors or windows. Just the hole. You looked up at the hole, but it was so far up that it was tiny. Your heart fell when you realized there was no getting out of there. You looked around once more for anything that could be useful, but came up empty-handed.

“How long have you been here, Marguerite?” you asked, hoping for, well, hope.

“Oh, I can’t remember, it’s been so long.”

You sighed. You could feel anger bubbling in your stomach. How could he, the Goblin King, just throw you down into some godforsaken hole? How were you ever going to get through the labyrinth now? You didn’t even have a fighting chance. It just wasn’t fair. And Marguerite? How long had she been down here? This king must truly be cruel. You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. You wondered what this place even was, and when you asked you could just about explode.

“This is an oubliette! It’s a place you put people to forget about them,” Marguerite answered.

You were fuming. How could he?! That coward! You must have been on the right track and now he just wasn’t letting you get any further. Because he was scared you were going to win. You didn’t realize it at first, but you were yelling your thoughts at the top of your lungs. Screaming, practically. A long, screaming rant filled with rude words and insults streamed from your throat, the rant being punctuated by a loud, guttural “Coward.”

Suddenly, you were being pinned to the wall, a hand on your throat. It was Jareth. He didn’t squeeze hard enough for you to not be able to breathe, but it had become difficult. His eyes were dark and dangerous, but his face showed no sign of emotion.

“Don’t you dare call me by that word,” he said through gritted teeth, “Not when I’ve granted your wish to bring you here, no small feat. You would never have called me that if you knew what I’m capable of. I am the Goblin King, I could take your soul and turn you into a mindless, hideous, little goblin,” he threatened. Then you did something. You simply couldn’t stop yourself. You spat in his face. He let go of you, roaring.

“I am not afraid of you,” you told him, straightening yourself out. He laughed. 

“Of course you’re not,” he exclaimed, “Because you’re different, aren’t you, darling?” he said with a sugary sweet smile. You remained silent, wondering what he was talking about. “Don’t be modest. Tell you what, I’ll let you and your friend out of this oubliette if you give me something of value to you,” he said, grinning at you. You only glared as you tried to come up with something you had on you that meant something to you. You hadn’t brought anything with you, since you wanted to start on a clean slate, however that slate may look. It wasn’t looking too good. You looked to Marguerite for anything that could help, but she shook her head at you, looking concerned. You looked back to Jareth, looking him straight in the eye. You couldn’t help but notice how his eyes were so cold, yet so deep, like an ocean. You ended up admiring them for just shy of a second, before pushing the thought away again. He cocked an eyebrow at you as if to tell you time was running. You sighed as you got an idea. You didn’t like the idea, but it was the best idea you had. You figured it would at least wipe that stupid grin off his face.

Sighing again, you walked up to him, prayed to whatever deity heard you that this wouldn’t be for nothing, took his face in your hands and kissed him. He didn’t kiss back immediately, leading you to believe that he definitely wasn’t expecting it. After a second, however, he did. His kiss was an experienced one, whilst yours was more innocent. You did not like to admit it, but you grew to like his lips against yours. Some moments after the kiss started, it ended when you pulled away. You could feel your face heating up, when you realized his left hand had landed on your waist. It slid off as soon as you distanced yourself from him. The expression on his face was something you couldn’t quite read, but it had lightened. Maybe he looked surprised, with the slightly raised eyebrows.

“Why did you… do that?” he asked, sounding slightly taken aback. He quickly regained his composure, though.

“I… haven’t actually ever kissed anyone,” you said sheepishly, drawing circles with your foot.

“Oh,” he almost whispered, then raised his voice a bit, “A first kiss.” You looked expectantly at him, but he was looking off into the darkness. When you finally locked eyes, he saw your expression, “That’ll do.” And with that, he began walking towards a wall, only for it to crumble and reveal a corridor. He walked into the corridor, but when you moved to follow him, he was already gone. It didn’t surprise you. You looked back at Marguerite.

“Marguerite, are you coming?” She seemed to snap out of a daze perplexity, then moved to follow you. You left the dark oubliette behind you and began traversing the semi lit corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading yet again. As always, kudos and comments are appreciated.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, really appreciate it. Do leave a kudo or comment, as that would literally make my day.


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